Routine
by lisiqe
Summary: Every morning Alexi would see their neighbor as they went on a jog. They both had their routine they kept up with. Until one day after a misstep the Skeletal neighbor notices them. Is this the start to a new friendship or more? Either way, routines are being broken and Alexi is stepping out of their comfort zone.
1. Chapter 1

Papyrus had a set schedule for his day to day life. It was something that he had set up when he and his brother first moved up to the surface. Ever since they came up to the surface nothing stayed the same for long. Whether it was the craziness of moving or how humans reacted to them or just monsters in general everything was just hectic. It was nice to have something constant in his life, a routine, to help him focus on in this constantly changing world.

The Routine was pretty simple though. First he would wake up at five thirty and then eat a small snack before going on a jog around the block. Afterwards he would go train with Undyne before heading home, showering and started making breakfast for him and Sans. He would wake up Sans at nine, they would eat breakfast and whether he had work or not is where his schedule deviated. So for the most part his schedule doesn't change which suited him just fine.

Except about a week ago something had happened. He had never seen their neighbor on the right before. They seemed to mostly keep to themselves He knew someone lived there though as the other neighbors would sometimes gossip about the "shut in" whatever that meant. He just never actually met them. Sans, who always assumed the worse, just thought they must not be a fan of monsters, but Papyrus didn't think that was true. Maybe they were shy?

Last Saturday though he had actually seen the neighbor. Normally never paid too much to any of the neighbor's houses when he was on his jog. It seemed that the sometimes put human on edge when a monster starts checking out their house. What drew his attention though was a quick movement at the window. That was when he first saw them, they were standing at the window looking over at him, a drink in hand but just as he was about to greet them as their eyes met they closed the blinds fast and hid. It stayed with him almost the whole day, even Undyne had noticed and asked. Her advice was just to ignore them, not much you can do with rude humans. Besides while the rest of the neighbors might be gossips they weren't too bad.

He didn't follow her advice though, the human was at their window everyday. Did they have a routine as well? It became apart of his routine, every day he would wave at them just to watch them hide away. Maybe one day human would wave back. Sans was getting mad at the how the human was acting, but Papyrus didn't want to think the worse of another person maybe they were shy.

A week past but the human still kept avoiding him though, it was almost enough for even Papyrus to give up hope. Which is why he was up early today, he was going to make his famous friendship spaghetti! Food always brought people together so maybe this would be just the thing he needed to befriend the human. If this didn't work then he would have to move onward, the least he could do was give this friendship the best chance at forming.

The human was at the window again as he walked up to the door. He had debated if he wanted to give the human the food in person or just leave it at the door. In the end he decided if they were too shy to wave back he doubted they would answer the door. So he rang the doorbell and left the friendship spaghetti on the door handle and continued his day. He had looked over at the window as he left the front door but the human already having ducked away from the window when he approached the door.

Papyrus had been distracted the whole rest of the day, did the human find the spaghetti? Did they eat it? Did they even like spaghetti? He hoped they at least liked it, ever since they came up from the underground he had been watching human cooking shows. He learned then that his cooking wasn't actually good even though Sans had said that he had been improving. It actually caused a fight between the two of them, well he was mad and Sans didn't really fight back. Could it even be called a fight if its one-sided? He shook his head to derail his thought train, he was getting off track.

He didn't see the human the rest of the day, not surprising but he had hoped that maybe the spaghetti might have drawn them out, but nothing. Maybe he should give up. Sans had tried to cheer him up at dinner, pick up because just wasn't in the best mood to cook, but there wasn't much he could do.

The next day as he exited the house for his walk he spotted a bag on his door knob. Opening it up revealed a note,a bag of homemade cookies, and the tupperware that he had put the spaghetti in cleaned. He looked at the note as he set everything down on the kitchen table.

"Thank you for the spaghetti, it was delicious. Here are some chocolate chip cookies i made as thanks." They signed the note on the bottom and Papyrus smiled. He ate one of the cookies and headed back out for his jog. Waving once more at the neighbor, this time though they waved back shyly.

Maybe this friendship could work.


	2. Chapter 2

Alexi had a set routine for every morning, that way they did just sleep in and let the day passby. Each morning they would get up, stretch, and then a shower before eating a small breakfast while their tea steeped. At that point they would put in 2 tablespoons of honey and filled the rest of the cup with milk before heading over to their front window where they would enjoy their tea, afterwards they either did some work or if it was Friday go to see their therapist and afterwards they would pick up supplies for work. The one task Alexi couldn't leave to others to do.

They would watch the neighborhood, even if it was always quiet around this time in the morning. Well,that is until the skeletons moved next door, ever since then they would see the taller of the pair out every morning for a jog. After awhile it just became apart of Alexis routine to watch him run by, always at the same time. He must have his own routine.

That is until last Saturday, where they definitely embarrassed themselves when they had tripped over their own feet heading over to the window. They had grabbed a hold of the curtains to keep themselves up and saw the skeleton look right over at them, eye to eye contact. The first reaction of being caught was to hide so they ended up on the floor, tea covering their shirt with a bright red face.

Why did he look over, did he notice they had been watching them? Oh god they must look like a creeper. What were they suppose to say! hello neighbor! I've been watching you every morning. Like that wouldn't be stupid. They had hoped that would be the end of it, the tall skeleton would be weirded out by them and just start ignoring them and it would just go back to normal.

Except it didn't every morning the skeleton waved at them and they hid. Way too embarrassed at being spotted being weird and just trying to avoid any more unnecessary embarrassing scenes.

That's all they ever did actually, avoiding things and situations that made them nervous. Ever since they had moved to this neighbourhood they had been coming up with more reasons not to leave the house. Their job was one they did at home, no friends so no reason to leave the house, and groceries could be delivered. It all happened slowly, it wasn't until one day that they needed to collect the mail earlier than normal, a task normally done at night, where the neighbors saw them out and about. They were like vultures, coming over circling them asking questions. It hurt to breathe, and basically they ran straight back into the house. At that point they had realized how much they went out of their way to avoid people and realized they should most likely need to see a therapist.

They didn't start to go right away, it took awhile to find one and at first they thought it was just social anxiety. The second session is when the therapist brought up the word Agoraphobia and explained exactly what it was.

Agoraphobia, Fear of places and situations that might cause panic, helplessness, or embarrassment. It fit, almost too well.

When friday came they spoke to their therapist about the taller skeleton and what had been going on for the last week.

"I see, it's not because he is a monster correct?" Monsters really never bothered them, even if they didn't really interact with them a lot. They knew a lot of humans didn't particularly like the monsters but they weren't one of them.

"I embarrassed myself in front of them, maybe they knew the whole time i had been watching them. How creepy is that? I don't want them to hate me." It was easier to avoid a situation then to deal with an angry person.

"It seems to me, Alexi, if he is waving at you then it's unlikely that he is angry. Most likely he wants to befriend you, sadly it doesn't help your case if you hide away everytime. From an outsider perception they would see it more as you not liking them. I believe a friend would help you a lot with your fears. You don't have to interact with him right away but maybe next time wave back?"

They had never really thought what their hiding would seem like to the skeleton but he still kept trying. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to wave back. They were going to do it, tomorrow they were going to wave back to the skeleton.

Now with the day in hand, at the window, tea in hand they saw the skeleton. Except he was carrying a bag, and why is he walking up to their door? Plan was aborted, they only wanted to wave this was too much. They heard the doorbell ring and something being placed on the handle. They watched thru the peephole as the skeleton left the door, and watched as he looked over at the window. He seemed sad when he saw they weren't there, was that what he looked like every time they ducked away. He was always gone by the time they went back the window.

They felt guilty, but what did he leave on their door? They carefully opened the door and pulled the bag in bringing it into the kitchen. Inside it was a note and a tupperware container containing spaghetti. Alexi set the container aside and read the note.

"Hello Neighbor!

My name is Papyrus, every morning I wave at you. If I'm bothering I would like to apologise but if you hide because you are shy then don't worry. I would very much like to become friends with you and as I have learned from the internet the best way to win someone is thru food. So I have made you some of my famous friendship spaghetti. I have learned since coming to the surface that spaghetti is not really a breakfast food so below I have left heating instructions."

His signature was below with a drawing of what appeared to be his face and below that was indeed heating instructions. They heated it and ate it for lunch later in the day. How long has it been since they had a home cooked meal that wasn't made by themselves, too long. It was nice of him to still want to be friend even if they had accidently been really rude to him.

A return gift was normal right? It wouldn't be strange to give something back as thanks. They had the stuff for chocolate cookies, it wouldn't be a big thing but it would still be showing they were thinking of the skeleton.

After the cookies were made, a note written, and the tubberware cleaned they put them all in a bag and after about 9 pm when they finally worked up the courage they headed over to the skeletons house and left the bag on the door handle.

All that night as they laid on their bed trying to sleep they worried about what he would think of the cookies. Would they eat them? Can skeletons even eat? He made spaghetti so most likely they would. What if someone else saw the bag and took it first?

The next day they started their day like normal and headed over to the window, he must have seen the bag because he was late starting his jog. They waited for a little while til after a couple minutes Papyrus came into view. He waved at them and for the first time since he started waving Alexi waved back. The smile on the skeletons face as he jogged by calmed their nerves and they felt happy.

Maybe this friendship could work.


	3. Chapter 3

Ever since Alexi first waved back at Papyrus it became part of their routine. They would arrive at the window, Papyrus would come out of his house, and they would wave at each other as a greeting. It was definitely a strange friendship, even if it was barely one at all. What kind of friendship was just waving? Besides the letters with the gift, they hadn't even actually talked to each other. It had been about a week, and that was it. Still, it was nice. A change in their schedule. Something new, which in itself was exciting.

Today was Friday, which meant a trip out into the world. First to their therapist, and then to a store to pick up the stuff they needed for work. Alexi ran a store online selling custom made costumes, whether it be cosplay or just everyday stuff. It was something they quite liked doing, and it seemed people liked their work as well.

With their tea now gone, and Papyrus having past long ago, it was time for Alexi to continue on with their day. They couldn't wait to tell their therapist about their encounters with Papyrus, hoping that she would be happy with their progress.

What they didn't expect when they opened their front door was Papyrus standing there with a bag.

It took Alexi a few seconds to realize that they were staring at the front door. It took them a whole minute to realize they had just slammed the door on their new friends face. A couple emotions bubbled up; anger at themselves for reacting that way, sadness at realizing what they had did, and finally fear. It was really rude of them to slam the door his face. At least they could admit that, even if shock was the only reason they did.

It was quiet. Was he angry? Did he leave? Alexi opened the door slowly and looked out. There was a new bag on their door handle. The one he had been carrying. They could also see his back as he entered his house.

They messed up, and after doing so well. They sighed, defeated, and looked down at the bag that he had left. A little ray of hope that he didn't think they were beyond saving. They took the bag in and brought it into the kitchen. Alexi might be a little late, but their therapist would probably be understanding. Inside the bag was another note, and a box of what appeared to be tea.

"Hello, Alexi!

The cookies you made were delicious! I even got Sans to eat one of them, and he doesn't eat much besides grease and ketchup. I noticed that when I see you in the morning, you are normally drinking something. I didn't know whether it was coffee or tea, but King Asgore, my boss at the flower shop I work at, makes wonderful tea. I thought I would share it with you. It is Golden Flower tea. I hope you enjoy it.

Papyrus

P.S.

I'm glad we are becoming friends."

A deeper sense of guilt seemed to rise in Alexi's throat as they remembered slamming the door in his face just moments ago. It seems they hadn't been the only one to call what they had a friendship. They swallowed down the guilt and smiled. Papyrus seemed to be the understanding type. Maybe if they just explained that they had been startled, then maybe it would blow over. He had noticed that they drank tea, even if he wasn't quite sure, but the gift had been quite thoughtful. Plus the thought of Papyrus working in a flower shop was cute. Sure, the idea of a skeleton surrounded by flowers might be a strange thing to call cute, but it couldn't be helped.

They were running late, though. They would try the tea tomorrow. For now it was time to leave the house.

Luckily traffic had been light, and it hadn't taken them too long to arrive. They had been a couple minutes late, but that wasn't here nor there. Their therapist was ready for them, and although they were nervous, they entered.

"Welcome back Alexi, it is nice to see you again. Last time you were here we talked about your neighbor. The skeleton, yes? Has there been any updates?" She asked curiously, Alexi nodded and she smiled. "You had planned to wave back to his greeting, correct? Did it go over well?"

Alexi blushed and waved their hand in a so-so wave. "The first day after our last session, I had planned on waving back, but instead he walked up to my door. He had made me spaghetti as a gift, though! I'm guessing in hopes that we could become friends." Alexi tried to remember back to the letter. "I kinda made him cookies as thanks. He got them the next day and on the same day I was able to wave back. It's become part of my routine now to wave at him each morning."

The therapist, Sophia was her name, had been their therapist for awhile now. Not their first but one they trusted, so after a pause they continued. "This morning though, when I was leaving to come here, he was at my door. I hadn't expected to see him and I kinda slammed the door in his face without meaning to. He had brought me tea, as well. He said his boss made it."

Sophia nodded. "He seems like a sweet guy. I'm sure he would understand." Alexi nodded and the rest of the session continued onwards.

Since Papyrus had gave them another gift, that meant that it was now their turn to give him a gift, but what?


	4. Chapter 4

A new day, a new tea to try out. Alexi was actually quite interested. They started their day normally, but when it came to adding honey and milk to their tea they decided not to. After all, they wanted to taste the actual tea, and the honey and milk would just mask the taste of it.

It turned out to be quite a subtle flavor in the end. A slight floral taste, but also sweet. So they were happy they held off from adding anything. It was quite nice, even if they couldn't place the flavor. It left almost a fizzy feel in their mouth, it was a light sensation, as well. They would have to ask Papyrus about it.

Speaking of Papyrus, he was late today. Which was quite odd. The only other time he had been late was the day they had dropped cookies off at his house. Alexi started to get even more worried when they had finished their tea and the skeleton still had not been seen. Something wasn't right, but maybe he was just having an off day.

The second day passed without him as well, worrying them even more. It was times like this that Alexi wished they had his phone number. Day three of no skeleton and Alexi wondered if he had gotten sick. Would it be strange to visit? Soup was good for a cold. They could make him some soup and bring it over to him.

What if he was just avoiding them though?

Alexi shook the thought out of their head. No, he seemed quite forward and they doubted he would just hide from them. So the plan was hatched. They would bring the soup over closer to evening, because it was more like a lunch or dinner thing than a breakfast. Then they'd check on him and try to explain their odd reactions to the skeleton. They paused when they realized this would be the first time the two of them would be speaking to each other. The thought made Alexi nervous.

They continued their day and started making the soup at five pm. They had decided on a creamy vegetable soup. It would be packed with nutrients and, if Papyrus was sick, it would be easier to eat. When six o'clock rolled around, the soup was packed up. They even made a thermos of tea for him. The Golden Flower Tea. With everything packed up they headed over to Papyrus' place.

At first no one had come to the door. There weren't even any sounds coming from inside. After waiting a couple minutes they knocked again. Soon after, they started to hear some shuffling. Papyrus opened the door. He was wrapped in a blanket and looked quite sleepy. Alexi must have woken him up. As he noticed it was them though, he seemed to perk up a bit and Alexi blushed a bit at the thought that he was actually excited to see them.

"Alexi, what are you doing here?" His voice sounded a bit hoarse, he must have gotten sick.

"Well, I didn't see you the last three days so I got worried. Thought you might have gotten sick. So I brought you over some soup and tea. That way you wouldn't have to cook. Since you said your brother ate mostly grease, I kind of assumed he didn't cook much." They fiddled a bit with the bag they had brought and Papyrus' smile grew.

"Sans tries, but it's mostly canned stuff. Come in! He's at work right now, so it's just the two of us."

With that, Alexi moved into the house. "Oh? What does he do for a living?" They asked curiously. They didn't really know much about their neighbors.

"He's got a couple jobs, likes to keep busy. I believe he is at his security job tonight. Left just before you came over." His voice sounded pretty bad and Alexi shooed him to the kitchen.

"Are you hungry now? I can heat it up a bit or just put it in the fridge for later. It's a creamy vegetable soup and the golden flower tea you gave me."

Papyrus nodded and sat down at the table. "I should eat, thank you. You didn't have to do this. Did you like the tea?"

Alexi nodded as they looked for a pan, "Yes, it was quite a subtle flavor. I think it's the first tea I've had that I didn't feel like I need honey or milk." After that it got quiet for a bit as they started to heat up the soup and set the table. The thermos kept the tea hot. It only took a couple minutes for the soup to warm up a bit more. They filled up two bowls. One for Papyrus and one for them. Then they both started to eat.

It took a little longer before Alexi spoke up. "Papyrus?" He looked up at them curiously. "I just wanted to apologize. I know we haven't had the smoothest friendship. Avoiding you in the beginning and then the whole door slamming thing. I get nervous and flustered easily and a lot of time I don't realize how it looks outside my own right now I'm kinda mentally freaking out. I just wanted to apologize." They rubbed the back of their neck nervously, a habit they had picked up when they were nervous or unsure.

Papyrus smiled and shook their head. "The fact you made me cookies as thanks for the spaghetti. The fact that you are here now with soup for me just because you were worried means a lot to me. I hope that as we get to know each other better we can become closer friends." With that they finished their meal in silence. Alexi may not have said all they wanted but they were still glad they said something.

"Come on Papyrus, let's get you back in bed." He had started to nod off near the end, and with a little bit of work they were able to get him back in bed.

Afterwards they returned back to the kitchen, put away any leftovers, cleaned the dishes they used before locking the door and headed home.

It wasn't until they were back home that they realized they'd forgot to get his number.

"Damnit."


	5. Chapter 5

Sans wasn't quite sure what to make of their neighbor. At first, he didn't like them, avoiding Paps, how low could you get? Asking the other neighbors about them gave him really nothing since they had really only talked to them once. A shut-in who rarely leaves the house. Except on Fridays, it seems, after having spotted them coming home with bags.

He didn't understand why Papyrus would bother trying to befriend their neighbor. It was clear that they wanted nothing to do with them. He wouldn't have even tried, Papyrus though, he was determined. Sans knew he wasn't the only one to try to change his mind. Papyrus was just that certain he could befriend them if he just tried hard enough. So that's what he did, Friendship Spaghetti and the whole nine yards. Sans had expected it to get ignored.

So it was a surprise when he saw the cookies on the table the next day. Paps had said it came from the neighbors, whose name it seemed was Alexi. Paps seemed so happy as he explained that they had waved back today. He had been right about them just being shy.

Maybe he had been wrong, but after a while, all they did was wave back. His brother's friendship with their neighbor grew stagnant.

Then the door incident happened and he was once again back to not liking the neighbor. He would have confronted them right away but Paps got sick. So his free time was taken up with caring for him.

Papyrus was the better cook out of the two of them. Sure he could cook a mean hotdog or hotcat, but when it came to recipes and actual ingredients. Well, that kinda stuff just goes over his head. So he was surprised, on day three of Papyrus being sick, to see homemade soup in the fridge. He became even more surprised when he heard it was from their hot and cold neighbor.

So Sans decided, he needed to talk to them. Figure out what the deal was with their neighbor. Why they were playing this game of hot and cold with his brother.

Which is why he, on a Friday afternoon, was watching their house. Since that was when they actually left for the day it seems. Waiting. They had already left for the day, to do who knows what, so he just had to wait until they came back.

He waited for about an hour before he saw their car pull up. They seemed happy enough, good time as any for a chat. He shortcuts down in front of them making them jump back startled.

"Hey kiddo, we need to talk. Think we can go somewhere to chat?" If he had paid even a little bit of attention to their body language or the shaking in their voice as they said sure, maybe things would have turned out better. He grabbed their arm and shortcut the both of them to Grillby's.

He expected the human to be startled at their arrival, nervous at a new place. That had been his goal, after all, to put the human off guard so they could chat.

That wasn't what happened.

Once they arrived, he had let go of their arm and turned to greet them. Except Alexi had slammed themself back into the bar. They tripped over a stool and unsuccessfully grabbed at the bar, knocking over a few things in the process

He could see their hands shaking, their eyes darting back and forth around the bar. There was fear in their eyes and their breath started to come out harsher. They had pushed themselves closer to the bar, wedging themselves between the chairs.

There were only regulars at the bar, too early for the night rush. Grillby was the first to react and hurried around the bar as Sans and the rest backed away from Alexi. The regulars wanted to give them some air, and Sans was in a panic.

What had he done?

When Grillby got down next to them Sans could see them mumbling something as they dug their fingernails into their neck. He winced a bit, knowing that must hurt but he doubted it was on purpose. Grillby placed his hand gently on their arm, and that seemed to have set off something as Alexi started to tear up. Still, they mumbled but now he could faintly hear what they were saying.

"I'm sorry." Over and over and over. It just made Sans feel worse. Ling had rushed past Sans with some water, in hopes that it would calm the panicking human.

Grillby looked over at Sans, this was the angriest he had ever seen him. He didn't need Ling to translate that look, it practically screamed 'What have you done Sans'

The others were looking at him now. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. He took another step back and then he was back in his room.

He just wanted to talk to them.

_**He just wanted to talk to them**_**.**


	6. Chapter 6

I'm almost caught up on this story, there is only one more chapter left to post before I start posting new chapters. I also have a one-shot Underfell edition. Just basically the first chapter, I will also post this as well if people are interested.

* * *

He could feel the tension coming from Sans' room, so thick it was seeping out from his door. Right now it was best to leave Sans on his own, but Papyrus wasn't going to let him stew all day. Papyrus got even more worried when he saw that Alexi wasn't at their window. Just like him, they seemed to stick to a pretty tight morning schedule. Did they catch his cold when they came to visit him? Maybe he should return the favor and make them something as well. Though with something going on with Sans, Alexi's disappearance was a little too coincidental. He frowned but continued his day.

During his workout session with Undyne, the fish monster sent him home for being 'too distracted'. Most days that would annoy him but since he was worried about two people he took the offer. When Papyrus got home he headed over to Alexi's place and knocked. No one answered and he couldn't even hear any movement from inside. It was times like this he really wished he had their phone number. After a minute he gives up and headed home, deciding to check on Sans first.

He got everything ready and soon was knocking on Sans door to wake him up.

No Answer.

"Sans, it's time for breakfast." There were some light sounds after he spoke. Sans was at least awake if not out of bed.

"Not hungry paps. I'll eat later." Papyrus frowned at that answer. Something was really wrong, they always ate breakfast together. He wasn't going to let Sans stew in his room for a minute longer. Because if he did, well, Sans might not come out for a while. So he barged in anyway, Sans sat up startled as he walked into the room.

"Sans, come out of your room. Even if you are not hungry you can't stay here all day. I don't know what's wrong but let's talk about it okay?" It took a little bit longer than he liked but, in the end, Sans agreed and actually left his room. He headed towards the living room with Papyrus following right behind.

"What's wrong, Sans?" Sans sat on the couch and shrugged. Papyrus sighed. "Today has been quite strange. Both you and Alexi seemed to be quite off. They weren't even at their window today. I hope I didn't get them sick." When he said their name, Papyrus saw Sans flinch- something had happened. "Sans, what happened?"

"What do you mean, Paps?" He was sweating again.

"You flinched when I said their name. You're acting suspicious and they were absent this morning. What happened."

Sans sighed and Papyrus got more nervous. Alexi and he were just barely securing their friendship, they hadn't even exchanged numbers. What did Sans do?

"So, it's just the human…

Papyrus cut him off. "Alexis."

Sans nodded. "Right, so they're strange. Being hot and cold with you. Being friendly sometimes but distant others. I just wanted to talk to them. So when they were coming home I kinda asked if we could go somewhere to talk. They agreed and I took them to Grillby's."

"How did you ask them, what did you mean when they were coming home?"

Sans played with the strings of his hoodie. "Well I waited till I saw them come home and I popped over to them after they got out of their car. Didn't think they would answer the door for me."

Papyrus stared at his brother as he tried to piece the scene together. "So you cornered them as they got out of their car. Then asked to take them somewhere and please tell me you didn't shortcut your way to Grillby." Sans pulled the string of the hoodie together to hide his face. "Sans! Did you even explain what you were going to do?" Papyrus watched as his brother shook his head."So not only did you use magic on a human but an unsuspecting one. Let alone that human was my friend. They get nervous about situations that put them in uncomfortable situations. Alexi didn't flat out say it, but I think they might have an Anxiety Disorder."

"That would explain the panic attack."

"The _**What**_?!" Papyrus practically screamed at his brother. Who so nonchalantly dropped that on them. He sat down, shocked, needing to calm down.

"Yeah, right after I shortcut us to Grillby's they kinda had a panic attack." Sans was out of his hoodie but was looking anywhere but at him.

"Please tell me you at least took them home." His brother was sweating and he knew the answer.

"I..uh.. panicked and shortcut myself back to my room."

Papyrus had never felt more disappointed in his brother than he did now. He never felt angrier. "So you left a human having a panic attack in an unknown location with people they don't know. I..I just. I don't know what to say to you Sans. Did they even get home?" Sans nodded and he felt a bit relieved that Alexi made it home okay.

"Grillby said Ling brought them home once they were able to get them calm. Says I'm banned for at least a month or whenever Alexi forgives me. Whichever comes last." Which made sense, a panicking human in a monster run establishment wouldn't be good for the business.

"I need to check on them." He stood up but Sans grabbed his arm.

"Tell the kid I'm sorry. I just wanted to talk to them."

"No Sans." Sans flinched and let go. "I can't even begin to understand why you thought that forcing them to come with you was a good idea. I'm quite mad at you right now Sans. You will be the one to apologize and then explain yourself." Papyrus paused, right now would not be the best time. He wasn't even sure when a good time would be. "Not now, but later on. I will not be your scapegoat so you can hide away from this talk."

"I didn't force them. They said sure!" Sans said trying to muster up some defense.

"You cornered them when they got out of their car, do you really think they could have said no? Let alone the fact you didn't even tell them you were teleporting them!" There was nothing Sans could say to that. "I'm heading over there now, eat the food before it gets cold."

He didn't look back at Sans as he left the house.


	7. Chapter 7

Papyrus may have left the house nervous but as he neared Alexi's house, it started to turn to worry. He hoped their budding friendship would survive what his brother had done. After all, it was essentially abduction since Sans hadn't really given them a chance to say no. There was also the fact that while magic on humans wasn't technically, banned this might be considered extreme force. Was that the right word? Either way it wasn't a good idea for him to have done it.

He arrived at their door and tried knocking again. Once again there was no answer, but he wasn't giving up. On a whim, he tried just opening the door. To his complete surprise, the door swung open. _How long has this door remained unlocked? _Papyrus took a deep breath and stepped into his friend's house.

"Alexi, it's Papyrus. I was worried about you." He closed the door behind him and noted that the layout was similar to his and Sans house. Made sense, since this neighborhood had a basically cookie-cutter feel to it. He headed up to the bedrooms and after hearing some movement in one room knocked. "Alexi? I heard what happened. Can I come in?"

There was a pause and for a second Papyrus was worried they wouldn't want to see him.

"Okay."

The voice sounded a bit tired and soft. He opened the door and saw Alexi laying in bed. Still wearing the outfit they most likely went out in yesterday. He stepped inside, closed the door behind him, and walked over to their bed. He paused at the end of it before gingerly sitting down.

"How are you doing?" He ventured, his bony finger nervously fiddled with the ends of his scarf.

Alexi shrugged, there was silence for a while as Papyrus thought about what he should say.

"Alexi," He paused but continued on. "I'm sorry for what my brother did. I hope this doesn't ruin my chance at being friends with you."

Alexi sat up quickly and shook their head. "No, it's not your fault Papyrus. I don't really even blame your brother, I doubt he was expecting me to react that way."

"Still, he shouldn't have done that." Alexi nodded and silence filled the room. "We are becoming friends right?" They had really only spoken twice now. Once when he was sick and now, and in truth Papyrus wasn't sure, without Sans' Interference, that they would have talked again as soon as they did.

"I would really like to be friends with you, Paps." They both smiled happily and Papyrus stood up holding out his hand.

"Well then friend, let's get up and going. The first step to feeling better is to get back on the horse! You take a shower and I'll make us breakfast." He was glad they were able to move on and that they had taken another step in their friendship. It wasn't over yet. Sans still needed to apologize and talk to Alexi, after all. At least now Papyrus knew there weren't any significant problems between the two of them.

Alexi shook their head. "No, Paps you already did enough for me, you don't have to."

"I don't have to but I want to and I want to hang out with my new friend for the day. If that is alright?" Alexi blushed but nodded and Papyrus stood up. "I will see you in the kitchen when you are ready." With that, he left the bedroom and headed down to the kitchen. He saw the bags of sewing supplies on the table with a note set on top. It seemed Ling had brought in the sewing supplies from the car.

There was a lot he didn't know about his new friend. Then again when they grew closer as friends l, he would learn more about them. For now, he would focus on breakfast. Working in Alexi's kitchen was definitely out of his element. The placement of the utensils was foreign to him and he had no idea what sort of food they had in stock. He managed to find some bananas and decided they would pair well with pancakes.

Papyrus was just finishing up with the cooking when Alexi came into the room, well more like stood by the entryway looking into the room. Their movements were jerky, almost uncertain..

"Foods ready." Papyrus said gently.

Alexi looked over at the table, Paps had already set it, perfectly at that. He had also placed his bags down near them. He didn't know where Alexi would have wanted them placed.

"Ling brought your stuff in from the car, anyways I hope you like pancakes."

The meal went by quietly, every once in a while they would ask each other something, but it was even calming to eat together in silence. There was a quiet comfort that Papyrus' consideration provided. Alexi didn't feel the need to fill up the quiet with unnecessary conversation.

Once they were done eating they moved on to cleaning up. Alexi washed the few dishes that remained and Papyrus placed leftovers away. He noticed they seemed like they wanted to say something. Maybe they didn't want to disturb the silence or just weren't sure how to say whatever It was.

"So what would you like to do once we're done cleaning up?" He asked. He just wanted to hang out, but he had no real plans. While he wasn't normally one for being a homebody, he knew that Alexi would feel more comfortable staying put. Maybe later on they could go out to places together but for now, especially with everything yesterday, it was best to keep them in their comfort zone.

There was silence, but as Papyrus learned dealing with Sans, it was best to let them answer at their own pace. Alexi didn't say anything until they were finished.

"I have to catch up on my orders. With everything that happened, I might have fallen a little behind. So I'll just be working today...i-it will probably be boring. You don't have to stay if you don't want to, you already did a lot for me."

Papyrus shook his head. "Just because we are hanging out doesn't mean we have to do something together. Just spending time with you is fine." He smiled and Alexi smiled back. He helped them bring the bags up to the workroom. If was a cozy little area, filled with the necessary equipment. He didn't quite know what everything's purpose was, but he was filled with curiosity. The most comforting thing in the room was a loveseat with a starry pattern on it.

"Sans would love this thing." He said as he sat down on the loveseat. Alexi looked at him curiously but he continued. "He's always had a fascination with stars. Well, he used to."

Papyrus drifted off into his own thoughts. Sans was still kinda into stars, but it seemed they had lost their luster after a while. Actually, it seemed that most things had lost their shine to Sans actually. He'd lost interest in things he used to love.

Alexi had started to set up whatever they needed to do, but their busy movements stilled at that comment. "What happened?"

He got pulled out of his thoughts with their question.

"I don't know. Just that one day it seemed like he was more distant than normal. Like he had set this barrier up between him and everyone. He was still acting the same, making jokes and punning around but it just didn't feel as genuine. Sometimes, like what happened to you, I feel like he forgets that his actions have consequences. He has gotten a bit better though since he and Frisk talked though." It felt nice getting all that out though, even if he had come to comfort Alexi. "I told him he needs to apologize to you, maybe explain his thinking. I'll be honest, I don't know when that will be."

"It's fine. I don't think he meant any harm." There was silence again before Alexi had started up their work and he took out his phone. They settled into the same comforting silence as before, both appreciating the non-obligatory company of the other person.

This was nice.


	8. Chapter 8

Alexi normally preferred working alone, they tend to feel like the other person in the room is judging them in some way, even if they weren't. It still caused them some stress and because of that, the work would suffer either in quality or quantity. It turned out, surprisingly, to be way less stressful working with Papyrus nearby, they didn't feel overwhelmed. Another thing was silence, Alexi tended to worry more about silence, always feeling the need to fill it with just so it wouldn't become awkward. They would talk for a bit but there were still pockets of silence, but the silence that filled the room now wasn't awkward, instead, it was more peaceful then Alexi was used to. The only sounds that filled the room were the sounds of their sewing machine and the gentle sounds of tapping coming from Papyrus on his phone.

Wait…

Tapping?

How did bone even work on touchscreen phones? It shouldn't work, right? So how was he tapping on his phone? Curiosity got the better of them and Alexi looked over at Papyrus, his fingers were glowing a soft orange and whether it was just the sewing machine going silent or because he noticed them looking over at him Papyrus looked up at Alexi questioningly.

"Sorry!" It came out more as a squeak then actual words, Alexi turned back to their work embarrassed that they had been caught staring at Papyrus. Their ears perked up when they heard Papyrus chuckle and they turned back towards him.

"I'm not surprised you're curious. Want to come over and look?" They nodded and turned off the sewing machine before walking over to the couch to sitting down next to Papyrus. They were definitely curious and it really didn't take much to convince them, Papyrus held out his hand to Alexi, they looked like fingertips, almost human-like if it wasn't for the soft orange glow. "Most human cell phones these days are touch, for most monsters that's fine but for me and my brother. Well, we are skeletons, bone on-screen just leads to scratches and nothing happening, Luckily for us, we can make these almost skin substitutes with our magic called Ectoskin."

"Can you do more than just fingertips?" Alexi looked away from the glowing fingers, they wanted to touch them but felt it would be weird to ask

"Yes, but it's exhausting and there's no reason to waste so much magic on something I don't need." He paused for a second and moved his hand closer to theirs. "You can feel them if you want." Alexi blushed, wondering if it was obvious that it was something they wanted to do or just something everyone else had asked to do. They cupped Papyrus' hand in theirs and started to examine the fingertips, they were soft to the touch but there was almost a static feel from them, it was a nice feeling. They turned his hand over so his palm was facing up and carefully ran a finger down one of the fingers, the action must have startled Papyrus because he jumped. You both froze but before either one could say anything his cell phone went off.

He turned his attention to the phone and sighed when the name Sans pop up on the screen, he gave an apologetic look before answering the phone. "Hello, Sans.." Alexi could hear Sans but they couldn't understand what he was saying. "All right, I'm on my way back." He hung up and looked back at Alexi. "Sorry Sans needs me back home." Despite that, neither one of them moved, Alexi realized that they were still holding his hand and let go.

"Thanks for coming and checking on me, and hanging out with me. Sorry, I wasn't better company but I need to catch up on my work." There was a pause before they continued. "Maybe we can do this again sometime? Hang out I mean." They were nervous about the offer, worried that Papyrus would say no, wondering if they were being stupid by voicing it but when Papyrus smiled all those thoughts drifted away.

"I would love that Alexi, and maybe, after Sans apologizes, of course, you could come over to my place for dinner?" Alexi nodded. "Also I admire your work ethic, so you needn't apologize especially since I was the one who insisted on staying. How about we do this again next week? Same day."

After it was decided that they would hang out again next week Papyrus left to go home, Alexi went back to work, Alexi noticed that the silence in the room was more deafening now that Papyrus was gone. This morning hadn't been the best for them and Alexi was grateful Papyrus came over and got them moving again. They doubted they would have ever gotten out of bed today on their own. Their phone buzzed with a text message, they wondered if it was from Papyrus, maybe he left something? So they paused their work and checked their phone. It wasn't Papyrus, the message was from Grillby checking in on them.

Seeing his name brought back memories from last night. After Sans had bounced and left them there it didn't take Grillby and his patrons to realize something was wrong. Ling had been the first one to them, helping them ground themselves and breathe while another patron had gotten them a glass of water. Really the whole group had been great that night helping them out. Alexi had forgotten that they had even given Grillby their phone number, the message he sent had said that they were welcomed to come back any time, that their order would be placed on Sans tab and then ended it by echoing what Papyrus said about Sans temp ban from the bar. They sent back a quick message saying thank you and asking for him to tell the others thank you, from them, for their help last night. At this point, there wasn't much they could do with the whole Sans thing, not til he apologized at least, so there was no point in worrying, for now, it was best just to get some work done.


End file.
